About

Located at Pukekura Park in the heart of New Plymouth, the TSB Festival of Lights is a seven-week, free event made up of beautiful light features and epic events including music and daytime activities for kids and seniors.

NPDC loves bringing this ultimate summer festival to New Plymouth every year.

PLAN YOUR VISIT

Lights on 8.30pm – 11pm every night, rain or shine

During the Festival, lights are on from 8.30pm. At 10.45pm a siren will sound at the band rotunda to notify you to vacate the park before the lights are switched off at 11pm.

Getting to the festival

Pukekura Park's main entrance is 10 Fillis Street, which is just a 10-minute walk from New Plymouth’s CBD.

Festival Hub

During the Festival, the Festival Hub is the place to go for all festival information, maps and more. Enter via Pukekura Park’s main gates and you'll find it.

Dog Control

A temporary dog ban is in place throughout Pukekura Park from 7pm to midnight for the duration of the festival.

Parking

During the festival, the Bellringer Pavilion car park is pedestrian access only. Parking is available at TSB Stadium carpark, located off Rogan Street, at the Rogan and Victoria Street car parks and surrounding streets. Accessible/limited mobility car parking is located along Fillis Street. You can view parking options on the festival map.

Entertainment Stages

Please bring low chairs and picnic blankets to sit on while watching performances. If you do need a high-backed chair or have pushchairs or wheelchairs, keep these to the sides and back of the lawns so you don’t obstruct the view of others.

Alcohol Control

During the entertainment programme, alcohol may be consumed in a responsible manner on the stage lawn where an act is performing. This applies until 10pm on the Hatchery Lawn and Fred Parker Lawn. A park-wide alcohol ban is in place for all other areas of Pukekura Park between 7pm and 7am. Failure to comply may result in seizure of alcohol and/or arrest and prosecution.

Smokefree

Please respect other festival visitors and New Plymouth District Council’s smokefree parks, playgrounds and sportsgrounds policy by refraining from smoking and vaping within Pukekura Park.

Recycling

Waste Management is helping to keep the festival tidy. Look for the labels on wheelie bins and make sure you put your rubbish into the appropriate bin. If a recycling bin gets tainted with non-recyclable rubbish it all goes to the landfill, so please work with us to help keep our festival and park clean and green.

Get Involved

Volunteer at the festival

Our volunteers are the face of the festival and provide fun and friendly information points and guidance to people within the park over the TSB Festival of Lights season.

Why volunteer at the festival?

Give something back to your community
Enjoy being out and about, making the most of our summer evenings
Share the experience of volunteering with a friend or family by volunteering together! Or meet new people and make friends
Get an exclusive sneak peek of the festival before it officially starts
Receive an official t-shirt and an invite to an exclusive post-festival volunteers event

If you're interested in volunteering, we'd love to hear from you!

History

In 1953 a fountain was installed in Pukekura Park's Fountain Lake, to commemorate the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, with lights installed on Poet's Bridge and around the Main Lake. In 1955 Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh visited New Plymouth and lights were added to the new fountain for them to enjoy. It was the 1970s when music and entertainment became a feature of the annual lights event, and it was 1993 when we were officially named the 'Festival of Lights'. We have been growing ever since then, and now offer 50 days and nights of events and lights!